i365 Partners With ISVs On Cloud-based Storage

Cloud-based storage and backup service provider i365 this week opened up its Internet-based storage service platform to independent software vendors who want to integrate cloud-based storage into their applications.

The move allows any application vendor dealing with data in some form, including backup vendors or developers of applications like CRM and ERP, to easily integrate storage-as-a-service, said Terry Cunningham, general manager of i365, a wholly-owned subsidiary of storage vendor Seagate.

i365's new EVault Cloud Connected Services Platform is targeted at ISVs who want to take advantage of customer interest in cloud computing but who lack the expertise to develop their own platforms or the infrastructure to support cloud storage on their own, Cunningham said.

"We let ISVs add cloud storage capability to their platforms without the need to do all the extra work," he said.

There are four components to the platform, said George Hoenig, vice president of products operation at i365.

The first is cloud APIs which allow ISV applications to natively write data to the i365 cloud and read and delete data from those clouds, as well as wrap their own metadata around the data in order to handle record keeping or management, Hoenig said.

The second component is i365's storage cloud offering, based on Seagate's 2007 acquisition of storage service provider EVault. It includes a multiple top-tier data center with SAS70 Type II or ISO 9001:2000 certification for data security and availability, he said.

The third is i365's service connector for caching data and sending it via a secure network connection to the cloud.

Finally, i365 also provides the technology to handle different pricing and billing models, account and contract management, and customer SLAs (service level agreements), he said.

"We will help partners deliver an integrated solution without them needing to reinvent the wheel," Cunningham said.

i365 currently has two announced ISV customers of its service, including CA, which is using the EVault Cloud Connected Services Platform to add cloud-based storage to its popular ARCserve data protection software, and C2C, a Westborough, Mass.-based provider of e-mail archiving services.

Prior to the formal unveiling of EVault Cloud Connected Services Platform, i365 also partnered with Microsoft to sell its cloud-based storage through solution providers working with the Microsoft Data Protection Suite, Cunningham said.